Months after his arrival, iOS 26 is progressing at an unusual pace among iPhone users. Publicly available data indicates that a significant portion of the installed base It's still stuck on iOS 18This contrasts sharply with previous cycles and is fueling debate within the tech community. The situation is striking because, in other instances, The new versions of Apple's system became dominant in a matter of weeks.Now the pace is much slower, with a system that introduces a profound visual change —Liquid glass— and a greater push towards AI-based features, while many users prefer to take it easy and stay on familiar ground.
An unusually low percentage for iOS 26
According to figures compiled by StatCounter from web traffic in January 2026Only between 15% and 16% of active iPhones worldwide are running some variant of iOS 26. The breakdown places iOS 26.1 at around 10,6% of devices, iOS 26.2 at around 4,6%, and the initial version 26.0 at around 1,1%.
In parallel, over 60% of devices would still be on iOS 18With iOS versions 18.7 and iOS 18.6 accounting for a significant portion of the installed base, this distribution is very different from what was seen in previous generations, when the new system would become dominant much sooner, relegating previous versions to the background within months.
The website itself MacRumorsThe company, which analyzes its readers' traffic, has detected a marked change in update behavior. In the first week of January last year, Almost nine out of ten visitors were using some version of iOS 18In the same time period this year, only around 25,7% of those accessing the page do so with iOS 26, a significant drop in the proportion of users on the latest version.
Comparison with other iOS releases
Comparing these figures with those of previous cycles makes the difference even more apparent. According to StatCounter's historical records, four months after the release of iOS 18 —in January 2025—, approximately 63% of users had already switched to that version.
With iOS 17, in January 2024, adoption also progressed strongly: exceeded 50% in similar periodsAnd with iOS 16, in early 2023, the system even reached over 60% market share in that same timeframe. In contrast, iOS 26 lags far behind, and its growth curve appears to be less than a quarter of the rate set by its predecessors.
This slowdown has practical implications. Apple's development model, and that of many third-party apps, is designed so that, in just a few months, the latest version of the system becomes the referenceIf most users take longer to update or decide to stay on iOS 18 for longer, developers may be forced to extend backward compatibility and delay the full adoption of features exclusive to iOS 26.
StatCounter vs TelemetryDeck: two different photos
The picture, however, changes considerably when looking at other sources. TelemetryDeck, who obtain their metrics through anonymous data sent by applications that integrate its SDKIt offers a much more favorable reading for iOS 26. Its panels indicate that, by the beginning of 2026, nearly 60% of active devices will have already been updated to the new system, while around 37% will still be on iOS 18.
Both services agree on the general trend —iOS 26 has not taken hold as clearly or as quickly as other versions—, but they differ significantly in the exact percentages. This numerical gap is largely explained by the methodology used: StatCounter is based on web page impressions, where the browser reports the system version, while TelemetryDeck relies on actual application usage.
In practice, that means that StatCounter may underrepresent those who spend more time in apps than in the browserTelemetryDeck tends to reflect an audience closer to developers and advanced users, who are often more likely to upgrade soon. In fact, several software companies have indicated that their internal statistics more closely resemble what TelemetryDeck reflects than purely web browsing data.
The situation is complicated because Apple It does not regularly publish official adoption figuresTherefore, the analysis relies on third-party estimates. As a result, the debate about whether iOS 26 is truly "stuck" or simply progressing more slowly than usual remains open, and all indications suggest that the reality might lie somewhere between these two extremes.
The weight of Liquid Glass and the visual change
One of the most frequently cited reasons for the caution of many users is the interface redesign. iOS 26 introduces Liquid Glass as the central element of the system's appearancereplacing many opaque areas with translucent layers, blurred backgrounds, and dynamic depth effects that affect menus, panels, and controls.
This is the most significant aesthetic change since iOS 7, and the reaction has been mixed. Part of the community appreciates the system's increased dynamism, but another part perceives that Backgrounds and transparencies can overload the screen and hinder readability in everyday use, especially during intensive use or in brightly lit environments. In forums and on social media, the idea is repeated that the design looks great in a demo, but isn't as convincing after several hours of continuous use.
This impression has led some users to speak of a certain “visual overload” and prefer the iOS 18's more understated and familiar aestheticApple has reacted by adjusting some transparency levels and offering more options to reduce the effects, but that hasn't prevented some users from seeing the jump as too abrupt for a system that is used constantly throughout the day.
Security, patches, and the dilemma of updating
The other side of this cautious approach is the issue of security. Although Apple continues to distribute critical fixes also for previous versions of the system, some of the most recent vulnerabilities have been patched first—or only—in iOS 26 iterations. One example is the flaws that, according to the official documentation and the iOS 26.3 security testThey could be exploited in highly sophisticated attacks targeting specific objectives on devices maintained in previous systems.
For European users who are more sensitive to privacy, this poses a dilemma: to remain in a version perceived as more solid But with the risk of receiving patches less quickly, or having to upgrade to a newer system that, in addition to aesthetic changes and new features, incorporates the latest protection against emerging threats.
The very pace at which Apple decides to make iOS 26 a "recommended update" within Settings also plays a role. This time, the company has been more restrained in pushing the update, which many interpret as an implicit sign that It is not essential to update immediately if the device works correctly with the installed version.
With all these elements on the table, iOS 26 finds itself in an unusual situation for a major system release: Its deployment is slower and more debated. than that of its predecessors, and the community is moving between curiosity about the new features and comfort —and even distrust— towards a redesign that has yet to prove its solidity in everyday use.